Things to do in Sūzhōu
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Lǜyáng Húntundiàn
Founded in 1802, Lǜyáng moved here in 1999 and continues to satisfy ever-hungry local appetites with wonton dumplings ( 馄饨, húntun, Y8 to Y15), fried rice dishes ( 炒饭, chǎofàn, Y12 to Y15) and soups ( 汤, tāng, Y8 to Y12). No English menu, but try yínyú húntun ( 银鱼馄饨, whitebait wonton soup, Y15), gālí jīdīng chǎofàn ( 咖喱鸡丁炒饭, curry-flavoured chicken fried rice, Y15) or yāxuè fěnsī tāng ( 鸭血粉丝汤, duck’s blood soup, Y8). They also do delicious steamed dumplings ( 小笼包, xiǎolóngbāo, Y8 for four dumplings). Pay first at the counter, then hand your slip to a waitress.
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Sūzhōu Museum
This IM Pei—designed museum is a soothing contrast of water, bamboo and straight lines in a stunning geometric interpretation of a Sūzhōu garden. Inside is a fascinating array of jade, ceramics, wooden carvings, textiles and other displays, all with good English captions. Look out for the Boxwood statue of Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin), dating from the republican period. An in-depth look at the scholars and their lifestyle of the period is particular fascinating (containers for crickets? A mahogany birdcage with a dainty porcelain water cup? Did these guys actually do any study?). Draconian entry rules apply: flip-flops wearers get turned away. Come early as there are limited…
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Garden of the Master of the Nets
Off Shiquan Jie, this pocket-sized garden, the smallest in Sūzhōu, is considered one of the best preserved in the city. It was laid out in the 12th century, went to seed and was later restored in the 18th century as part of the home of a retired official turned fisherman (thus the name). The central section is the main garden. The western section is an inner garden where a courtyard contains the Spring Rear Cottage (Diànchūn Yì), the master's study.
The most striking feature of this garden is its use of space: the labyrinth of courtyards, with windows framing other parts of the garden, is ingeniously designed to give the illusion of a much larger area. Trivia nuts: th…
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Zhūhóngxìng
One of Sūzhōu’s most popular noodle joints, this canteen-style place was founded in 1934 and moved here in 2000. If you can’t decipher the badly translated English menu, try; ‘braise the meat noodles’ ( 焖蹄浇面; mèntí jiāomiàn; Y15) – noodles with pig trotters – or; ‘burst the and braise the meat noodles’ ( 虾仁煲鳝面; xiārén bāoshànmiàn; Y35) – which is actually the restaurant’s speciality seafood noodle dish with prawn and eel.
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West Garden Temple
This attractive temple was once part of the Garden to Linger In, but was given to a Buddhist temple in the early 17th century. The West Garden Temple, with its mustard-yellow walls and gracefully curved eaves, was burnt to the ground during the Taiping Rebellion and rebuilt in the late 19th century.
Greeting you upon entering the magnificent Arhat Hall (罗汉堂; Luóhàn Táng) within the temple is a stunning four-faced and thousand-armed statue of Guanyin, leading to mesmerising and slightly unnerving rows of 500 glittering luóhàn (Buddhists, especially a monk who has achieved enlightenment and passes to nirvana at death) – each one unique and near life-size. Kids mig…
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Cold Mountain Temple
About 2km west of the Garden to Linger In, the Cold Mountain Temple was named after the 7th century poet-monk Han Shan. Han Shan has exerted a surprising amount of influence on 20th century literature, first showing up in the work of Beat writers Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac, and later in the poetry of Irish Nobel prize-winner Seamus Heaney.
Today, the temple holds little of interest except for a stele by poet Zhang Ji immortalising both the nearby Maple Bridge and the temple bell (since removed to Japan). However, the fine walls and the humpback bridge are worth seeing.
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Coiled Gate
By the southwest corner of the outer moat (but entered from Dong Dajie), and part of one of Sūzhōu’s few remaining stretches of city wall, Coiled Gate is thought to be China’s last remaining land-and-water-gate, and dates from 1355. Inside the same grounds, Ruiguang Pagoda (Ruìguāng Tǎ) dates from the 3rd century and can be climbed. Further north, Gold Gate (Jīn Mén), just inside the western stretch of the city moat, is a plain but charming, unrestored city gate.
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Lion's Grove Garden
Near the Humble Administrator's Garden is the Lion's Grove Garden, constructed in 1342 by the Buddhist monk Tianru to commemorate his master, who lived on Lion Cliff in Zhèjiāng's Tīanm' Mountain. The garden is most notable for its legion of curiously shaped rocks, meant to resemble lions, protectors of the Buddhist faith. If the Humble Administrator's Garden was crowded, get ready to be pushed along by the tide of tourists here.
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Sūzhōu Boat Tours
Hour-long evening boat tours (Y100 per person) do half-circuit return trips along the outer moat. Boats leave every half hour between 6.30pm and 8.30pm. Buy tickets from the Suzhou Wharf. At the time of writing, plans were in place to make possible a complete circuit of the moat. Eight-person row boats (per boat Y150) ply the canals by Pingjiang Lu where, towards the northern end of the lane, you’ll find a ticket office
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Tiger Hill
In the far northwest of town, Tiger Hill is popular with local tourists. The hill itself is artificial and is the final resting place of He Lu, founding father of Sūzhōu. He Lu died in the 6th century BC and myths have coalesced around him – he is said to have been buried with a collection of 3000 swords and to be guarded by a white tiger.
The most popular point (and a sort of beacon drawing the visitors) is the leaning Cloud Rock Pagoda (云岩塔; Yúnyán Tǎ) atop Tiger Hill. The octagonal seven-storey pagoda, also known as Hǔqīu Pagoda, was built in the 10th century entirely of brick, an innovation in Chinese architecture at the time. The pagoda began tilting over 400 year…
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Bookworm
Set back from Shiquan Jie, over the other side of the canal, and housed in an attractive white-washed, two-storey building, Bookworm makes a smart choice for a coffee stop. Like its popular Běijīng branch, this one also has a fantastic range of English-language books, some of which are for sale, and hosts occasional cultural events (check the website for details). The Western-friendly food is pricy. Has wi-fi.
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Temple of Mystery
The Taoist Temple of Mystery stands in what was once Sūzhōu's old bazaar, a rowdy entertainment district with travelling showmen, acrobats and actors. The temple's present surroundings of Guanqian Jie are just as boisterous, but the current showmen are more likely to sell you a fake designer watch than balance plates on their heads.
The temple was founded during the Jin dynasty in the 3rd century AD, and restored many times over its long history. The complex contains several elaborately decorated halls, including Sānqīng Diàn (Three Purities Hall), which is supported by 60 pillars and capped by a double roof with upturned eaves. The temple dates from 1181 and is the o…
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Blue Wave Pavilion
Overgrown and wild, the 1-hectare garden around the Blue Wave Pavilion is one of Sūzhōu's oldest. The buildings date from the 11th century, although they have been repeatedly rebuilt. The entrance sits across a bridge that straddles the small lake out the front. Originally the home of a prince, the property passed into the hands of the scholar Su Zimei, who named it after a poem by Qu Yuan (340–278 BC).
Lacking a northern wall, the garden creates the illusion of space by borrowing scenes from the outside. A double verandah out the front pavilion wends its way along a canal. From the outer path, you'll see green space inside and from the inner path you can see views of …
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Cloud Rock Pagoda
Built in the 10th century, the leaning Cloud Rock Pagoda stands atop Tiger Hill. The octagonal seven-storey pagoda, also known as Huqiu Pagoda, is built entirely of brick, an innovation in Chinese architecture at the time. The pagoda began tilting over 400 years ago, and today the highest point is displaced more than 2m from its original position.
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Humble Administrator's Garden
First built in 1509, this 5.2–hectare garden is clustered with water features, a museum, a teahouse and at least 10 pavilions such as 'the listening to the sound of rain' and 'the faraway looking' pavilions – hardly humble, we know. It is the largest of all the gardens and considered by many to be the most impressive. With its zigzagging bridges, pavilions, bamboo groves and fragrant lotus ponds, it should be an ideal place for a leisurely stroll…sadly you'll have to battle with crowds for right of way!
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boat tours
Evening boat tours wind their way around the outer canal leaving nightly at 18:30. The trips are good fun and a great way to experience old Sūzhōu. Remember to bring bug repellent as the mosquitos are tenacious. Tickets can be bought at the port near Renmin Bridge, which shares the same quarters with the Grand Canal ticket office.
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Píngtán Museum
Up the same street, west of the Kūnqǔ Opera Museum, is the Píngtán Museum, which puts on wonderful performances of píngtán, a singing and storytelling art form sung in the Sūzhōu dialect. Shows are at 1.30pm daily.
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North Temple Pagoda
The tallest pagoda south of the Yangzi, at nine storeys North Temple Pagoda dominates the northern end of Renmin Lu. Climb it for sweeping views of hazy modern-day Sūzhōu.
The temple complex goes back 1700 years and was originally a residence; the current reincarnation dates back to the 17th century. Off to the side is Nánmù Guānyīn Hall (Nánmù Guānyīn Diàn), which was rebuilt in the Ming dynasty with some features imported from elsewhere.
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Spring Rear Cottage
Spring Rear Cottage 'The master's study' is the former home of a retired mandarin, set in the Garden Of The Master Of The Nets. It contains the study with its Ming-style furniture and palace lanterns of the former official, which was duplicated and unveiled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1981.
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Garden to Linger In
One of the largest gardens in Sūzhōu, this 3-hectare garden was originally built in the Ming dynasty by a doctor as a relaxing place for his recovering patients. It's easy to see why the patients took to the place: the winding corridors are inlaid with calligraphy from celebrated masters, their windows and doorways opening onto unusually shaped rockeries, ponds and dense clusters of bamboo. Stone tablets hang from the walls, inscribed by patients recording their impressions of the place. The teahouse is a fantastic place to recover from crowd overload. Order a cup of lóngjǐng (龙井; Y15) and feel time slow down.
The garden is about 3km west of the city centre and can…
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Shiquan Jie Shopping Strip
Sūzhōu-style embroidery, calligraphy, paintings, sandalwood fans, writing brushes and silk underclothes are for sale nearly everywhere. For good-quality items at competitive rates, shop along Shiquan Jie Shopping Strip, which is lined with shops and markets selling souvenirs.
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Mario's Pizza Ristorante Bar Caffe
If you get a hankering for something Italian, head to this simple little place near the North Temple Pagoda. Mario's is by far the best place to eat continental cuisine in Sūzhōu. Try one of its authentic pizzas or pasta dishes - the sauces are all homemade and fabulous.
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Twin Pagodas
The seven-storey Twin Pagodas were built during the Northern Song dynasty by candidates for the imperial examination who wanted to pay tribute to their teachers. The pagodas stand in the centre of an attractive garden filled with stone sculptures, with a teahouse at the far end.
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Silk Road Centre
The excellent Silk Road Centre is attached to the silk museum. You can access the shop without entering the museum, although the museum is well worth visiting. There is also a row of silk shops halfway along Renmin Lu where an old silk factory used to operate.
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Sōnghé Lóu
This 200- year-old restaurant is the most famous in town and supposedly Emperor Qianlong's favourite when he came to visit. Here you can choose from a variety of Sūzhōu-style dishes, including the popular mandarin fish. Food is good but expensive and service can be brusque.
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